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— www.MainStreetSports.com — September 18, 2008 The Banks County News Chris Bridges, Sports Editor 706-367-2745, direct line 706-367-9355, FAX chris@mainstreetnews.com FAST-PITCH SOFTBALL BCHS rebounds to defeat Fannin County TEAM LEADER Hayley Baird continues to be a strong defensive player for the Banks County High School softball team this fall for coach Josh Lord. Photo by Randy Crump/ Rudeseal Photo BY CHRIS BRIDGES After suffering a disappointing setback to Union County two days earlier, the Banks County High School softball team returned to the field determined to get back on track against Fannin County. The end result was a 6-2 victory against the visiting Lady Rebels as Jordan Rogers went the distance in earning the win. Rogers allowed just one earned run and did not give up any walks. A four-run fifth inning gave the Lady Leopards a 6-2 cushion. The inning was capped by a two-out, two-RBI single from Madison Porter. “We played pretty well,” said BCHS coach Josh Lord. “It was good to see us bounce back from a tough loss at Union County. Fannin’s pitcher throws a pretty good drop but we had a good approach in place from working in practice the day before.” By the numbers: Ashley Denton leads the Lady Leopards with a .392 batting average followed by Hayley Baird at .368. Brittany Cook had a big day at the plate with three hits including a double, rur scored and RBI. Kim Thomas, who playec first base, also had three hits and drove ir a run. Porter finished the day with two singles and drove in two runs. Madison Franklir added a single and scored two runs while Hayley Baird had a single and scored a run Ashley Denton had an RBI and Courtne> Entrekin scored a run in the victory. See Softball on page 3B Banks County @ Rabun County, Friday, 7:30 p.m. DEFENSIVE SURGE (Top) Chase Armour (86) and the Banks County High School defense makes a play against Dawson County last week. Members of the Leopard defense, including Thomas Baker (below), will look to stop Rabun County this Friday in another Region 8-AA battle. Photos by Randy Crump/Rudeseal Photo Leopards aim for second win in row At A Glance: BY CHRIS BRIDGES T he Banks County High School football team will look to make it two in a row this week when it ventures to Rabun County for a showdown with the Wildcats. Coach Blair Armstrong’s team defeated Dawson County last Friday for its initial win of the 2008 season. The victory also put the Leopards in the win column in the Region 8-AA standings evening their record at 1-1. (BCHS is now 1-2 overall). Rabun County enters this week’s contest at 0-3 overall and 0-2 in region play under first-year head coach Danny Durham who previ ously directed the Franklin County High School program. While on paper Rabun County has struggled at times this season, Armstrong and his coaches have been emphasizing to their players not to overlook this week’s foe. “Rabun gave Union County (who is undefeated) fits and led North Oconee a couple of times,” Armstrong said. “They were beaten by Riverside pretty decisively but they are a team that can beat you. We will have to step up our play to another level.” BCHS, 1-2 (1-1) @ Rabun County, 0-3 (1-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m. 8-AA battles... u See Preview on page 2B JV FOOTBALL Leopards' opponent forfeits BY CHRIS BRIDGES The Banks County High School junior varsity foot ball team was set to compete last week but did not have an opponent. The junior varsity Leopards were scheduled to face Riverside last Thursday but the JV Eagles forfeited the game. This week the BCHS JV will try again when it trav els to Franklin County for a scheduled 5:30 p.m. contest. The team will then have an off week before playing its first home game of the 2008 season against Oglethorpe County Oct. 2. MIDDLE SCHOOL Turnovers costly in BCMS loss BY CHRIS BRIDGES Despite compiling more than 300 yards on the ground, the Banks County Middle School football team fell to North Habersham Middle School last week 42-24. It was the first setback of the season for the BCMS gridiron Leopards after beginning the new campaign with consecutive wins. BCMS was hurt by eight fumbles, head coach Vince Lehotsky said, seven of which were lost. North Habersham was able to score off five of the BCMS turnovers. “We obviously won’t win games that way,” Lehotsky said. “Fumbles had not been an issue for us until this game.” The coach said the loss was tough since the game was a league contest. The BCMS football team was scheduled to meet South Habersham Middle School earlier this week. CROSS COUNTRY BCHS teams open season in meet at East Jackson BCHS looks to even overall record Friday A fter an admittedly frustrating first two weeks of the season, the Banks County High School football team got the train moving in the right direction last Friday night. Coach Blair Armstrong’s Leopards recorded their first victory of the 2008 season with a 48-27 win against visiting Dawson Countv. The victory was important not only because it was the first o of the still ■ 1 ~ mr - : relatively young campaign but because — it evened the chris Region 8-AA record for BCHS at 1-1. Things bridges First & Ten certainly look a lot rosier when your region mark is 1-1 rather than 0-2. With region win No. 1 now in the record book, the Leopards went back to work this week in preparation for this Friday's 8-AA contest against Rabun County. While the Wildcats have struggled somewhat this season with a new coaching regime, it will be impor tant for BCHS not to overlook their opponent this week. While improvements have been made by the Leopards in several areas, the program is not to the point where it needs to be chalk ing up automatic wins or over looking any foe, regardless of its region or overall mark. While BCHS defeated Rabun County last week, the Wildcats have given the Leopards trouble in recent seasons and it seems playing at their stadium always gives them at least a touchdown advantage. There were many highlights for Armstrong’s team in its first win of 2008 last week. Senior Justin Beasley continued his pace for another All-Star season with 274 yards rushing. Teammate Demetric Dempson added 122 yards on the ground. Dempson’s ability in the backfield is going to make it impossible for teams to concentrate solely on Beasley even though the temptation to do so is great. Quarterback Chris Porter con tinues to improve at his position. On one pass play, the senior stood at the pocket and looked over the entire field before firing a strike for a completion and first down. Porter continues to grow at the quarterback spot and his leader ship shows in each passing series. With 551 yards of total offense, one cannot forget about the play ers who often get overlooked: the linemen. With Lyn Hester, Zach Dale, Nathan Davis, Justin Bowen, Tyler Hulsey and Jeff Smith clearing the path, the BCHS backs were able to have huge nights. One cannot overes timate the impact they had in the win last Friday night. The Leopards are entering a key two-game stretch in the 8-AA schedule. This week’s road game at Rabun is followed by a home contest against North Oconee. Wins in these contests would improve BCHS to 3-2 in region play with an off week to follow. It would put the Leopards in great position to make a serious run at a state playoff spot. It will be important to not look too far ahead, however. What is important is concentrating on Rabun County. Right now a win against the Wildcats is all that matters. Continuing last week’s winning momentum is essential to long-term success this season. Chris Bridges is sports editor of The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to chris @ mainstreetnews. com. BY CHRIS BRIDGES Running with heavy hearts, the Banks County High School cross country teams began the 2008 season last week. Both the Leopards and Lady Leopards competed at East Jackson High School along with Jackson County, Cedar Shoals, Riverside, Commerce and host East Jackson. The BCHS runners dedicated the meet to the memory of school mate Tyler Bush who had died from inju ries in an automobile accident. The BCHS boys were third over all with 70 points while the Lady Leopards were fourth with 80 points. Coach Kelly McDuffie was impressed with her runners’ efforts. “In the midst of everything going on at school with the loss of Tyler, the runners did a great job,” the vet eran cross country coach said. “The run was dedicated to him.” Ivan Diaz turned in the top time for the BCHS boys in 18:28 which was just one tenth of a second off his state meet time. Keiffer Hellmeister set a personal best mark of 19:26. See Run on page 2B